Evening. You stroll down the streets in search of something edible for the supper. You hear the music. It’s apparently coming from the park nearby. Curious, you go to have a look. When you finally cross the gate something unexpected appears before your eyes… In the center of the park, at the big square, there are around 70 people dancing… waltz. You’re flabbergasted. What the hell is going on in here?!

Not sure what to make of it, you approach one of the dancers during the break. You ask him what all of this is about. Your guess is that it might be some kind of advertisement action by one of the dance schools. Well… it’s not. What you’ve been told is that people simply come here every evening to dance. That’s how they spend they free time. It’s as simple as that and yet for a foreigner somehow perplexing. Putting English waltz aside, Chinese people in general have a tradition of public gatherings. It doesn’t matter in which city you are (big and modern like Shanghai or small like Suichang) they all have something in common. In each and every one of them you can see people dancing (or practicing taichi) in the evening on streets, in parks, at squares and any other places as long as there is enough space. Chinese people do not shy from public. Anything here has a public aspect to some point (even visiting a doctor – however ridiculous that might sound). As for the dancers anyone can join them any time. There’s always someone who’s leading the dance. You can just imitate what he/she’s doing. If you’re ever going to visit China try this at least once. It’s a great fun (and gives you wonderful opportunity to interact with people). Enjoy!